Carrie Watts is an author, speaker, and podcaster who believes stories can heal and restore hope. Through her writing and the Saved and Strong podcast, she encourages women to move beyond past trauma and step into the life God created them to live. Carrie is the author of the young adult novel Crisis of Faith and enjoys inspiring others through faith, storytelling, and community. Carrie can be found on Instagram and Substack @‌carriewattswrites. On Facebook, her handle is Carrie On. All of Carrie's links, including where to find her book and podcast can be found on her website at www.carriewatts.com or https://www.link.me/carriewattswrites.

Episode Preview:https://youtube.com/shorts/iANQHXQMGq8?feature=share

Welcome to 12 Minute Converse with Jesus Believers.

God chose first to have a conversation with us, his creation.

Our prayer is that this listening space brings growth and transforms your life forever.

Praise God for you, Carrie.

What part of the world are you in today?

I'm in Brandon, Mississippi.

That's wonderful.

Well, tell me the concept of crisis of faith, the title.

It captured me, yeah?

Like, what is crisis of faith?

What do you even mean when you're talking about that?

Well, when I think of a crisis of faith, I think of that moment in our life, a very pivotal moment where what we believe to be true is altered in some way.

And there's some kind of disappointment or trauma, and we have to decide at what point are we going to trust Jesus, or are we going to trust our own selves?

And so for me to write this book, my heart is for young girls to heal from their own childhood trauma and to trust Jesus and to step boldly into their plan and purpose that God has for them.

What was your crisis of faith?

Oh, well, when I was nine years old, I was sexually abused by someone in my own family.

And we were a church going family.

We were in church Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night.

My dad was a deacon in the church, and we knew what was right and we knew what was wrong.

But unfortunately, it did happen.

And so I had to decide.

Lord felt very convicted at that point that God did not cause this to happen, and he was going to use it to help other people.

And so I've gone through a lot of counseling in my life.

I've talked to a lot of people who this has happened to men and women.

Unfortunately, it's prevalent, and it's usually 90% of the time it's inflicted on these children by someone they know.

It's a family member or an acquaintance.

It's only 10% of the children who have been abused sexually by a complete stranger.

And so I just thought, well, how can I help?

How can I help these children to heal and to move forward in their lives?

Because unfortunately, we know that those who give up and who get stuck and addicted and are in destructive relationships, I didn't want that for them.

I want these girls to realize that healing is it's attainable.

It's possible.

When did you decide that you were going to share this message?

And please tell me if there was any procrastination to taking action to doing it.

Well, I started my own healing journey in my 20s.

And then, of course, I got married and had kids and, you know, the career and all.

But when I was homeschooling my children, teaching them how to write creatively, I found myself awakening very early in the morning, and I felt like God was asking me to write my own memoir.

So I made a book deal with God and I said, OK, I'll write my memoir for you, Lord, but I'm not going to share it.

And you know how that went.

And so I've never published my own memoir, but I felt that since young girls were my target audience, they're reading fiction.

You know, they're not writing around with a memoir.

And so I decided to write fiction.

So I had to go back to the drawing board and learn how to write fiction.

And I had sweet editors who told me, you know, what girls are reading, how I had to learn how they talk.

So I started volunteering with the young women in my church and just get their lingo.

And it's been quite a learning process.

And, you know, the Lord stretched me quite a bit on this one, but we got it done with the help of a publisher and editors and beta readers.

And publishing a book is no joke, but we got it done.

And I just pray for my reader.

I pray that she reads it and retains it and moves forward in our own faith.

What's on the horizon for you?

I'm currently writing the sequel to Crisis of Faith, and we're going to keep these girls healing in the Bright Light Safe House, which is the safe house that's in Crisis of Faith.

And I hope that it will be at least a trilogy, hopefully a series.

I know so many people who are true boots on the ground, who run safe houses and who are protecting these girls and saving these girls and rescuing these girls.

And I admire them.

And I would just love to have a small impact in a big problem in our world.

And for the person who may be listening and their child is in the backseat, a nine-year-old daughter is in the backseat, what would you tell them to give them hope?

I would say that first and foremost to seek wise counsel through Christ, read your Bible, worship.

God is for you.

He's not against you.

We can give all our anxieties to him, as it says in Philippians 4, 6, cast all our worries on him and he will replace it with peace that passes all understanding.

But God also gave us people, wise counselors and therapists, as well as preachers and teachers.

And there are resources in your own community.

You just have to seek them out.

You're not alone.

The enemy wants us to think we're alone.

We're not.

When I listen to your voice, I hear strength.

I hear someone who's really come out from something that other people may still be under.

What you're representing is a testimony of multiplication, where something that could have been for bad ended up being changed and then multiplied for good.

That's a beautiful story.

Thank you for having me.

I really appreciate the opportunity to share.

You're welcome.

Five years from today, you're listening to this conversation.

What's a message you'd leave for future you?

I would say keep going forward.

You know, my name is Keri and I like to say, carry on, keep moving forward.

Because going back does not serve us well.

And I know that the opportunities I've had to share my story, the fact behind the fiction from the stage, I always have someone come up to me that's possibly even older than I am, just in tears and said, that happened to me.

Is it too late for me to heal?

It's never too late to heal.

And I know that the more hope that I can give, the more hope that others will pass along.

Like you say, it is definitely the law of multiplication.

And it's a beautiful thing.

I hope that what little I can give, the Lord will multiply.

My fishes and loaves.

I love it.

For the people that are listening, please give them some knowledge of what life looks like today.

You mentioned your children and helping them write.

How many children do you have?

Are you married?

What does life look like today?

The Lord introduced me to my husband over 35 years ago.

We've been married now almost 32 years.

We have three boys, 23, 21 and 16 years old.

And yes, I am very blessed.

And I know that if, you know, my life would be very different had I just stayed in that angry, unforgiving stage.

But once I let the Lord work a good work in my heart, I started letting go of things that did not serve me well.

And I started really digging deep into His word and spending time in fellowship with other Christians.

And it really has helped lead me to the point where I am today, for sure.

Okay, this has been a pleasure.

In closing, is there anything else you'd like to share?

I would just say, you know, you're made for more.

And the Lord's plan and purpose for you is a good plan.

He's a good daddy and He gives good gifts.

So just allow Him to work that work in you.

Amazing audience, links are in the show notes.

There's no way I could cover everything that Carrie does, but you can get more connected to her via the links that take you to her website and her social media platform, her podcast.

Carrie, a pleasure, I treasure.

Thank you for being on What is Inspired by 12 Minute Contents.